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Bubble Room Champagne lounge opens Sept. 14 in Old Town Scottsdale

The Mint | This flashy 7,000-square-foot and ultra lounge offers dark wood, marble, booth seating, a 20-foot bar and a coed bathroom in which cocktails are served. The whole space is a dance floor, and the sprawling outdoor patio features a surplus of seating for whenever the thumping DJ music inside becomes a bit too intense. Vegas-style lighting, glamorous back-lit photos of models robbing banks and servers outfitted like sexy bankers complete the party-in-a-bank experience. An extensive wine and specialty cocktails list is available. | Details: 7373 E. Camelback Road, Scottsdale. 480-947-6468, themintaz.com. The Republic

Best downtown Scottsdale bars, nightlife spots

The Mint | This flashy 7,000-square-foot and ultra lounge offers dark wood, marble, booth seating, a 20-foot bar and a coed bathroom in which cocktails are served. The whole space is a dance floor, and the sprawling outdoor patio features a surplus of seating for whenever the thumping DJ music inside becomes a bit too intense. Vegas-style lighting, glamorous back-lit photos of models robbing banks and servers outfitted like sexy bankers complete the party-in-a-bank experience. An extensive wine and specialty cocktails list is available. | Details: 7373 E. Camelback Road, Scottsdale. 480-947-6468, themintaz.com.
The Republic

Kazimierz World Wine Bar | It's a bit difficult to find this place if you haven't been yet. The entrance is tucked away from the main thoroughfare, where a sign above the door reads "The Truth is Inside." Inside is dark and cave-like, providing an intimate atmosphere to enjoy a glass of wine from the list of 2,000-plus bottles. Live jazz, funk and soul music is scheduled regularly, and the kitchen serves food until 1:30 a.m. | Details: 7137 E. Stetson Drive, Scottsdale. 480-946-3004, kazbar.net. The Republic

Best downtown Scottsdale bars, nightlife spots

Kazimierz World Wine Bar | It's a bit difficult to find this place if you haven't been yet. The entrance is tucked away from the main thoroughfare, where a sign above the door reads "The Truth is Inside." Inside is dark and cave-like, providing an intimate atmosphere to enjoy a glass of wine from the list of 2,000-plus bottles. Live jazz, funk and soul music is scheduled regularly, and the kitchen serves food until 1:30 a.m. | Details: 7137 E. Stetson Drive, Scottsdale. 480-946-3004, kazbar.net.
The Republic

Coach House | This tiny wooden house turned bar stands out in Scottsdale for being the antithesis of the city's usual swanky nightspots. Inside, the bar has low-pitched ceilings. Outside, a second bar serves the wraparound patio. While it's a small place, it's no dive. The bar opened in 1959 and has been a longtime favorite. The Coach House is a must-visit during the holidays, when every inch of the bar is decorated in Christmas wrapping paper, lights, candy canes, ornaments and tinsel. | Details: 7011 E. Indian School Road, Scottsdale. 480-990-3433, coachhousescottsdale.com. The Republic

Best downtown Scottsdale bars, nightlife spots

Coach House | This tiny wooden house turned bar stands out in Scottsdale for being the antithesis of the city's usual swanky nightspots. Inside, the bar has low-pitched ceilings. Outside, a second bar serves the wraparound patio. While it's a small place, it's no dive. The bar opened in 1959 and has been a longtime favorite. The Coach House is a must-visit during the holidays, when every inch of the bar is decorated in Christmas wrapping paper, lights, candy canes, ornaments and tinsel. | Details: 7011 E. Indian School Road, Scottsdale. 480-990-3433, coachhousescottsdale.com.
The Republic

The District | The District is also a restaurant and popular day-drinking spot, but at night, it's packed with partyers. The decor is laid-back with exposed brick; a massive wall hanging of the outline of the United States filled in with the American flag; plenty of flat-screen TVs; and a globe sculpture created from gears hanging from the ceiling. Attractive cocktail waitresses and bartenders in lace bustiers and booty shorts serve the equally attractive crowd, and regular DJs spin the hottest dance tunes. There's a full view of Maya Day + Nightclub, so you feel like you're a part of one mega Vegas-like experience. | Details: 7333 E. Indian Plaza, Scottsdale. 480-664-0356, districtbaraz.com. Kevin Brost

Best downtown Scottsdale bars, nightlife spots

The District | The District is also a restaurant and popular day-drinking spot, but at night, it's packed with partyers. The decor is laid-back with exposed brick; a massive wall hanging of the outline of the United States filled in with the American flag; plenty of flat-screen TVs; and a globe sculpture created from gears hanging from the ceiling. Attractive cocktail waitresses and bartenders in lace bustiers and booty shorts serve the equally attractive crowd, and regular DJs spin the hottest dance tunes. There's a full view of Maya Day + Nightclub, so you feel like you're a part of one mega Vegas-like experience. | Details: 7333 E. Indian Plaza, Scottsdale. 480-664-0356, districtbaraz.com.
Kevin Brost

Livewire | Jeff Bridges and the Abiders, English Beat and DJ Steve Aoki are among the music acts that have played in this 14,000-square-foot venue. The decor includes funky fixtures like brass horns, a sculpture of electric guitars and a gilded eagle that shoots liquid nitrogen from its mouth, with laser-light eyes and 24-foot wings. Ten private VIP areas feature cushy gold tufted banquettes. Drink rails are all around for guests to get a second-story view of the stage, with no obstructed views. A second bar features a sculpture made of colored drums hanging from the center, and it looks out onto the smoking patio where there are monitors so smokers don't miss any of the show. Check online for upcoming acts. | Details: 7320 E. Indian Plaza, Scottsdale. 480-970-6980, livewireaz.com. Jeremiah Toller/Special for The Republic

Best downtown Scottsdale bars, nightlife spots

Livewire | Jeff Bridges and the Abiders, English Beat and DJ Steve Aoki are among the music acts that have played in this 14,000-square-foot venue. The decor includes funky fixtures like brass horns, a sculpture of electric guitars and a gilded eagle that shoots liquid nitrogen from its mouth, with laser-light eyes and 24-foot wings. Ten private VIP areas feature cushy gold tufted banquettes. Drink rails are all around for guests to get a second-story view of the stage, with no obstructed views. A second bar features a sculpture made of colored drums hanging from the center, and it looks out onto the smoking patio where there are monitors so smokers don't miss any of the show. Check online for upcoming acts. | Details: 7320 E. Indian Plaza, Scottsdale. 480-970-6980, livewireaz.com.
Jeremiah Toller/Special for The Republic

Maya Day + Nightclub | With a patio-dominating pool juxtaposed against a flashy nightclub, Maya Day + Nightclub delivers DJ-driven, Las Vegas-style revelry. Maya is a 9,700-square-foot nightclub and a 17,600-square-foot patio with rentable daybeds, lounges and cabanas. Built by Triyar Cos. as a temple to the cult of the DJ, the venue highlights mix-masters inside and out, with both spaces designed symmetrically around DJ booths. Headliners have included Calvin Harris, Nervo, Morgan Page and Steve Aoki. | Details: 7333 E. Indian Plaza, Scottsdale. 480-625-0528, mayaclubaz.com. Melissa Fossum

Best downtown Scottsdale bars, nightlife spots

Maya Day + Nightclub | With a patio-dominating pool juxtaposed against a flashy nightclub, Maya Day + Nightclub delivers DJ-driven, Las Vegas-style revelry. Maya is a 9,700-square-foot nightclub and a 17,600-square-foot patio with rentable daybeds, lounges and cabanas. Built by Triyar Cos. as a temple to the cult of the DJ, the venue highlights mix-masters inside and out, with both spaces designed symmetrically around DJ booths. Headliners have included Calvin Harris, Nervo, Morgan Page and Steve Aoki. | Details: 7333 E. Indian Plaza, Scottsdale. 480-625-0528, mayaclubaz.com.
Melissa Fossum

Dierks Bentley's Whiskey Row | This Old Town spot offers all the fun of a bar, but in an upscale dining Western style. Signature drinks include the Cowtipper, a blend of Bird Dog blackberry whiskey, sour mix and blackberries topped with PBR beer; and the Duke, a personal 32-ounce pitcher of Bud Light or Miller Lite. The house band Georgia Chrome performs on Thursday nights, and West Coast Swing nights are on Wednesdays. VIP tables with beer and liquor taps and bottle service can be reserved. | Details: 4420 N. Saddlebag Trail, Scottsdale‎. 480-945-4200, dierkswhiskeyrow.com. Jeremiah Toller/Special for The Republic

Best downtown Scottsdale bars, nightlife spots

Dierks Bentley's Whiskey Row | This Old Town spot offers all the fun of a bar, but in an upscale dining Western style. Signature drinks include the Cowtipper, a blend of Bird Dog blackberry whiskey, sour mix and blackberries topped with PBR beer; and the Duke, a personal 32-ounce pitcher of Bud Light or Miller Lite. The house band Georgia Chrome performs on Thursday nights, and West Coast Swing nights are on Wednesdays. VIP tables with beer and liquor taps and bottle service can be reserved. | Details: 4420 N. Saddlebag Trail, Scottsdale‎. 480-945-4200, dierkswhiskeyrow.com.
Jeremiah Toller/Special for The Republic

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Bubble Room is on top of Wasted Grain, a sports bar at Drinkwater Boulevard and Stetson Road. Square One Concepts remodeled the bar and transformed the space above it into a Champagne lounge.

If the one thing you thought was missing from Old Town Scottsdale was a dedicated Champagne lounge, you’re in luck.

The Bubble Room opens at 10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14, with a choice of 19 types of bubbles. The lounge is on top of Wasted Grain, a sports bar at Drinkwater Boulevard and Stetson Road.

Square One Concepts, which opened Wasted Grain in 2014, closed the bar this summer for a remodel and transformed the space above it into the Bubble Room.

The refreshed bar and the new Champagne lounge are expected to appeal more to women, according to Jason Johnson, a partner with Square One Concepts, the same group behind Cold Beers & Cheeseburgers and Bourbon & Bones.

Upstairs: 'Dressy etiquette'

The Bubble Room is awash in sparkling chandeliers and swathes of pink and purple colors. There is a strict dress code, too.

“No open-toed shoes,” Johnson said. For men, he means, not women. Guys should ditch the T-shirts and flip-flops, Johnson said, which are perfectly acceptable at the casual, sports-oriented Wasted Grain. But the upstairs Champagne lounge is aiming for a dressier standard.

“Scottsdale has become very casual over the past few years, which is great,” he said. “Wasted Grain is casual, but in the Bubble Room, we’re bringing back the dressy etiquette Scottsdale used to be known for.”

Among the 19 Champagne offerings, there will be options for every budget, from a $125 bottle of Moet & Chandon Imperial Brut to a $2,000 magnum of Ace of Spades rosé bubbles. Bottle service includes a custom Champagne display for your table.

Downstairs: Cereal-stuffed pancakes

The breakfast burrito at the Bubble Room.(Photo: Wasted Grain)

Wasted Grain customers will notice more seating and refreshed lighting. The patio garnered special attention with new furniture and more open spacing between seats.

Wasted Grain has always offered typical American bar fare, but new this season is weekend brunch. Dubbed the “Garden,” the menu will prominently feature cereal-stuffed pancakes — think Cocoa Puffs and Froot Loops.

“The Bubble Room will be a high-energy Champagne lounge.”

Jason Johnson, a partner with Square One Concepts

Not into cereal? How about rosé- or mimosa-infused pancakes. Look for French toast and breakfast burritos, too. Champagne cocktails will also be offered.

“The Bubble Room will be a high-energy Champagne lounge,” Johnson said. “We haven’t had that dynamic in Scottsdale.” At least not since the short-lived Narcisse Champagne Lounge at the Scottsdale Quarter, which opened in 2011 and closed in 2012.

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ATLAS BISTRO: Todd Sawyer’s restaurant is a chameleon, quiet and unassuming, hidden in a strip mall on the fringes of the Old Town spotlight, changing its colors through the years as chefs come and go. It’s also one of the most reliably excellent restaurants in town — a BYOB, to boot — that has never been better than it is under the auspices of chef Cory Oppold. Dishes are showy but thoughtful multi-component affairs that nimbly merge disparate flavors and techniques to compelling effect. As a bonus, Oppold’s vegetarian creations are some of the best in town. DETAILS: 2515 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. 480-990-2433, atlasbistrobyob.com. John Samora/The Republic

CHULA SEAFOOD: Chula Seafood isn’t a market, it’s a full-blown happening. Sure, this is casual fare served from behind a fish counter, but its diminutive footprint belies its oversize impact on the local fare. Pristine poke bowls and daily specials from Atlas Bistro alum Juan Zamora are built on Jon Heflin and Hogan Jamison’s stellar seafood, most of it trucked in from San Diego three times a week. There’s a reason the line is out the door and you can’t swing a stick in the place without hitting at least three chefs who are grabbing lunch on the way to work. A second Chula is opening soon at Uptown Plaza in Phoenix. DETAILS: 8015 E. Roosevelt Road, Scottsdale. 480-621-5121, chulaseafood.com. Dominic Armato/The Republic

ANDREOLI ITALIAN GROCER: Giovanni Scorzo was regional Italian before regional Italian was cool. The work of this culinary curmudgeon with an uncompromising vision is the drug of choice for those who mainline traditional Italian fare. A devastating combination of simplicity, technique and killer ingredients exposes the purveyors of oafish red sauce concoctions and pretentious modern Italian for the charlatans they are. Saunter into this neighborhood market, order up a plate of pasta or grilled seafood from the white board, snag some cornetti or sfogliatelle from the pastry case and consider yourself lucky that such a skilled Italian chef calls Scottsdale home.DETAILS: 8880 E. Via Linda, Scottsdale. 480-614-1980, andreoli-grocer.com. Dominic Armato/The Republic

FNB: The reasons to love this quirky, cozy spot are legion. There’s Charleen Badman’s ability to coax vegetables into revealing their truest nature; her talent for sizzling premium proteins on the mesquite grill; and Pavle Milic’s zeal for Arizona wines and spirits. Their work has put a bold stamp on the Valley’s emergence as a maturing, sophisticated culinary scene that can run with the big boys without feeling the need to mimic them. If one restaurant best exemplifies the blossoming of Arizona cuisine over the past decade, it’s FnB. DETAILS: 7125 E. Fifth Ave., Scottsdale. 480-284-4777, fnbrestaurant.com. Tom Tingle/The Republic

NEW WAVE MARKET: Country and Sergio Velador had a pretty darn good sweet shop going. Then they had to go and improve it by adding coffee, breakfast, lunch and a market of all manner of local delectables. Now, the quirky joint with a killer ‘80s soundtrack is irresistible, and you can go from one of the house-made bagels to a schmaltz-laced chicken salad sandwich to “brookies” and ice cream if you hang out all day. Spoiler: You’ll pretty much want to. DETAILS: 7120 E. Sixth Ave., Scottsdale. 602-736-2383, newwavemarket.com. Dominic Armato/The Republic

HOT NOODLES COLD SAKE: Josh Hebert’s ramen shop isn’t precisely traditional, and neither is Hebert. A chef trained in classic French style who spent a year working in Japan, Hebert has developed a highly personal style of ramen that might get under the skin of the tonkotsu fanboys. It’s hard to see that as a bad thing. It isn’t that Hebert hasn’t done his homework — he’s a student of the cuisine. But like so many ramen shops in Japan that are playing with convention, he’s using the framework of ramen as a means of self-expression. What he’s expressing is one of the best bowls of noodles in town. DETAILS: 15689 N. Hayden Road, Scottsdale. 480-432-9898, hotnoodlescoldsake.com. Dominic Armato/The Republic | Phoenix

LAMP WOOD OVEN PIZZERIA: Chris Bianco inspired a generation of Arizona pizza makers and, simply put, Matt Pilato is one of the best. Pilato has focused an obsessive attention to detail on local conventions to create a signature style of wood-fired pizza that’s descended from Bianco but entirely his own. Oft overlooked due to its distance from the city’s core, Lamp serves a pizza that’s modestly topped, roundly flavored and crisper than most. Though it’s one of the Valley’s prime specimens, the pizza isn’t even the best thing on Pilato’s menu. That title belongs to the mignulata, a type of Sicilian bread that sports a tender, layered core stuffed with pungent onions, house sausage and pecorino enveloped in a crackling crisp crust.DETAILS: 8900 E. Pinnacle Peak Road, Scottsdale. 480-272-6889, lampcafeaz.com. Lamp Wood Oven Pizzeria

WEFT & WARP ART BAR + KITCHEN: Adam Sheff may be a relative newcomer to the desert, but he’s playing the local flora and fauna like an old pro. The Andaz is one of Scottsdale’s less conventional resorts, and Sheff’s creative fare is in keeping with its artistic theme: vibrant, colorful, expressive and marching to its own beat rather than parroting the norms of its contemporaries. Dinner at Weft & Warp — its excellent desserts included — is a welcome respite from the glitz of nearby downtown Scottsdale. DETAILS: Andaz Scottsdale Resort and Spa, 6114 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. 480-368-1234, scottsdale.andaz.hyatt.com. Andaz Scottsdale Resort and Spa

VIRTÙ HONEST CRAFT: Gio Osso made a massive splash in 2013, earning rave reviews and a spot on Esquire’s best new restaurants list for his charming Italian nook at the Bespoke Inn. The ripples quickly died down, but those who forgot about Virtù need to come back for another look. Though Osso may be single-handedly responsible for putting octopus on the menu of every restaurant in town, his food has grown leaps and bounds in the five years since, evolving into something both leading-edge and lush, a tribute to his Italian roots with a hefty dose of American ingenuity. DETAILS: 3701 N. Marshall Way, Scottsdale. 480-946-3477, virtuscottsdale.com. Dominic Armato/The Republic

TALAVERA: Scottsdale suffers no shortage of blowout resort restaurants, but Talavera at the Four Seasons might be the crown jewel. Chef Samantha Sanz weaves the flavors of Spain and Mexico into a bold and sophisticated menu, built on premium ingredients and as lush to behold as it is to taste. From the chaos of paella plied with sea critters of every stripe to the aching simplicity of pan con tomate, Talavera’s refined room with stunning desert views is filled to the brim with flavors that sing. DETAILS: Four Seasons Scottsdale, 10600 E. Crescent Moon Drive, Scottsdale. 480-513-5085, talaverarestaurant.com. Dominic Armato/The Republic

POMO PIZZERIA NAPOLETANA: What started as a laser-focused Neapolitan pizzeria trying to convince skeptical diners of the soggy center’s charms has evolved into something more: A local restaurant group that has harnessed popular Italian fare and elevated its integrity without sacrificing its broad appeal. Restaurateur Stefano Fabbri runs a boisterous, contemporary establishment. His collection of wood-fired pizzas and fresh pastas is a delicious, never-ending work in progress that pushes diners just a bit further with each successive year. DETAILS: 8977 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. 480-998-1366, pomopizzeria.com. Patrick Breen/The Republic

RANCHO PINOT: Chrysa Robertson opened this Scottsdale institution nearly 25 years ago. But unlike so many moldering relics of the era that now feel clumsy and dated, Rancho Pinot is as fresh and relevant as any newcomer. Filled with California- and Italian-influenced classics you can ease into like a worn leather chair, the menu’s focus on pure flavor, unfussy presentations and classic comforts is at once timeless and on trend. Restaurants new and old struggle to show this kind of grace and maturity in their food, but Robertson, as always, makes it look easy. DETAILS: 6208 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. 480-367-8030, ranchopinot.com. David Kadlubowski/The Republic